Burisma Holdings Limited () was a holding company based in Kyiv, Ukraine for a group of energy exploration and production companies. It was registered in Limassol, Cyprus, until being dissolved in 2023. Burisma Holdings operated in the Ukrainian natural gas market since 2002. It was one of the largest private natural gas producers in Ukraine, circa 2019. It was owned by Ukrainian oligarch Mykola Zlochevsky through his company Brociti Investments Limited ().
Burisma's subsidiaries included Esko-Pivnich, Pari, Persha Ukrainska Naftogazova Kompaniya, Naftogaz Garant, KUB-Gas and Astroinvest-Ukraine.
History
Burisma was founded in 2002. Consolidation of the Burisma Group took place mainly in 2006 and 2007. It became a major shareholder of Sunrise Energy Resources, a Delaware Corporation, which in 2004 acquired Ukrainian companies Esko-Pivnich () and Pari (), which owned natural gas exploration licences. In 2009, shares in these companies were transferred to Millington Solutions Limited. However, shortly thereafter Millington ceased to exist, at which point Burisma claimed ownership of those two companies. In 2012, Persha Ukrainska Naftogazova Kompaniya (First Ukrainian Oil and Gas Company, ), Naftogaz Garant (Oil and Gas Guarantee, ), and KrymTopEnergoServis (CrimeaTopEnergoService, ) became a part of the Burisma Group.
In 2014, Burisma signed a cooperation agreement with KazMunayGas, the national oil and gas company of Kazakhstan. In 2016, Burisma bought two hydraulic fracturing (fracking) fleets. In 2017, it bought a 3,000-horsepower Service King Manufacturing SK 3000 drilling rig for $40 million (USD); it was the most powerful drilling rig in Eastern Europe at the time.
In February 2016, Burisma acquired a 70% stake in KUB-Gas (КУБ-Газ). In 2017, it bought a majority stake in Diloretio Holdings Limited, a company which owned Ukrainian gas companies SystemOilEngineering (г), Naftogazopromyslova geologiya, (Oil and Gas Industrial Geology, ), and Tehnokomservis (TechnoComService, ). Also in 2017, Burisma bought Nadragasvydobuvannya (Subsoil Gas Extraction, ) and GasOilInvest (Гасоілінвест). In April 2019, Burisma acquired Astroinvest Ukraine (Астроінвест-Україна), a natural gas trader.
In 2015, Burisma was one of the founders of the International Forum on Energy Security for the Future and partnered the Electric Marathon. In 2017, it signed a partnership agreement with the Atlantic Council to promote anti-corruption measures.
In the 2020 United States presidential election, the re-election campaign of President Donald Trump and his allies promoted allegations of corruption focused on the relationship between Burisma and Hunter Biden. The claims were first stated by an editor of Breitbart News, and subsequently formed the basis of a pressure campaign by Trump and associates to push the Ukrainian government to announce an investigation of the younger Biden's role with Burisma, culminating in Trump's impeachment and acquittal. Republicans hoped to use the Burisma allegations to tarnish Biden's 2020 Presidential campaign, but an investigation by the Republican-controlled Senate Homeland Security and Finance Committees shortly before the 2020 presidential election concluded that there was no evidence of improper influence or wrongdoing by Joe Biden.
Operations
Burisma's primary operations were in Ukraine, supplemented by activities in Germany, Mexico, Italy, and Kazakhstan. It held 35 gas production licences in Ukraine in the Dnieper-Donets, Carpathian, and Azov-Kuban Basins. Exploration and production activities were carried out at eight sites in five regions. Burisma also provided natural gas well services, including hydraulic fracturing. In 2019, Burisma planned to build a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) plant in Kharkiv with a capacity of 50,000 tonnes per year.
In 2016, Burisma was the second largest privately owned natural gas producer in Ukraine after DTEK, accounting for 26% of all natural gas produced by privately owned companies and more than 5% of total gas production in Ukraine. According to the company, it produced of natural gas in Ukraine in 2018.
In Kazakhstan, the company provided drilling services to KazMunayGas and its subsidiaries, including at the Urikhtau gas field. In Italy, Burisma developed three geothermal power projects in partnership with Gesto Investimento e Gestão.